In line with its commitment to sustainable development, and following the Cabinet’s appointment of the UAE Special Envoy for Climate, the COP26 Preparatory Taskforce met today for the first time to discuss the UAE’s preparations for the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), set to take place in Glasgow in November 2021.
The task force will align all relevant entities to reinforce the UAE’s position as a climate leader, and contribute to mobilizing and expediting collective climate action while ensuring the UAE’s strategic economic interests are not only met but enhanced.
His Excellency Dr Abdullah Belhaif Al Nuaimi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, and His Excellency Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change, convened the gathering of representatives from a wide range of critical institutions. These included the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, Sharjah Electricity, Water and Gas Authority, National Center for Meteorology, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Masdar, Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, Emirates Global Aluminium, and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC (TAQA). His Excellency Mansoor Abulhoul, UAE Ambassador to the UK, also attended the meeting.
The taskforce will build on the foundational work that the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) has led to increase the UAE’s contribution to global climate change mitigation and adaptation, including the second Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) that has positioned the UAE as the first country in the region to commit to an economy-wide reduction in emissions. Approved by the UAE Cabinet in early December 2020, the UAE’s NDC outlines the country’s enhanced climate target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 23.5 percent compared to business as usual for the year 2030.
His Excellency Dr Al Nuaimi said: “The next stage of climate action will see a tremendous shift, propelled by the global demand for a green COVID-19 recovery and the return of the US to global climate leadership. Therefore, COP26 has gained a paramount importance as a driver of concerted action to combat the existential threat to the future of Earth and to enhance the global adaptive capacity. The shift mandates that countries expedite their climate action and raise their climate ambitions, as the UAE has done in its second NDC.”
The Minister noted that over the next few months, the taskforce will coordinate efforts between concerned stakeholders in preparation for the UAE’s participation in COP26, reaffirming the country’s role in advancing global climate action with the aim of moving the needle on climate change.
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